the_last_resort | Belloq Log

The fëar of those of my kind who fall in battle or some other tragedy, are called by the Valar Mandos to join him in his halls, in Aman... that is, the Undying Lands, or the Blessed Realm. Some there are re-embodied.

Those of us who yet live can chose to leave Middle-earth and depart on ships to sail there, as many of my kind do. I will also leave, one day when I am too weary of my troubles, but once you have set foot in the land of the Valar you cannot return.

What you describe sounds similar like the Underworld of Homer. The Greek king Odysseus sails far to the west and finds the edge of the lands of the dead. There he performs a blood sacrifice to call the souls of heroes to him and give them back their power of speech so he can confer with the seer Tiresias.

If none have returned from Aman, is it just taken on faith that the fëar of the fallen have been called there?

'Underworld?' Blood sacrifices? That sounds terrible...

[Lindir looks visibly disturbed. It takes him a moment to focus his thoughts to answer the question.]

Of course not. In the First Age, there was a time when travel between Aman and Middle-earth was permitted. There are those who have walked that blessed land and returned. The Lady Galadriel was even born there.

[He goes on to explain that due to the Numenorians (Men) and their jealousy of the Elves' immortality made sure that nobody could have nice things, and travel there now became a one-way trip for Elves only.]

To Homer the underworld was a terrible place, grim and dark for the good and the wicked alike. Even the great hero, Achilles, said that he would rather be a slave in the land of the living than king of all the dead. Life and glory was all one had. The dead were nothing but faint shades.

It was only later that the myth changed and a garden of paradise for the spirits of the worthy to enjoy for eternity was included in the underworld.

[Lindir still looks slightly disturbed by the idea, but he's also a bit curious now.]

You say this is a myth. Do you mean to say it was a created story? One would easily discover the untruth, would they not?

The story described the world as they understood it. Their ships were primitive at the time; they couldn't sail far, or into open ocean. All they knew was that the waters continued to the west to a distance beyond their reckoning, and that the sun appeared to sink into those waters, down into another land.

As their understanding of the world changed, so did their stories.

[He takes a moment to consider that.]

I suppose if they were not blessed by the Valar such as my own people, one could not know for certain what lay beyond. It must be saddening to have that uncertainty.

Uncertainly is part of being human. It's the war we're always fighting against, with death the greatest uncertainty of them all. Perhaps someday there will be a way to find answers, to talk to God, but--[He shrugs.]--until that day, we live in darkness.

[By the look on Lindir's face, he's having a difficult time understanding fully, but certainly trying. His tone in scholarly.]

The fate of Men after death is known only to Eru Ilúvatar himself, but it is said that it is Men, not Elves, who will be allowed to take part in the Second Music. It is not something my own kind often think about, but in that way Men may even surpass Elf-kind.

It's an interesting trade off, certainly. Your kind have knowledge and immortality. Men have the promise of even greater things, but have to take it on faith while they suffer in life.

Are all mortals said to take part in the Second Music, or is it reserved for only the best of mortals?

It is reserved for Men, the second-born, only. It is not known to us what happens to Dwarves after their death, but they are not mentioned as part of the Second Music.

[A pause, then he turns to Belloq.]

And what of the beliefs of your kin?

I was raised Catholic. I admit I'm not a very good Catholic, but I still believe in the religion of my family and the God of the Old and New Testament, and hope to one day look upon the face of God.

Our creator's name must not be spoken, so we call him only Lord or God. He has three essences or ousia..."beingness," it means. There is the Father Creator; his son, Jesus, the essence of god made mortal; and the spiritus sanctus the Holy Ghost.

Those who receive the holy sacraments will be redeemed upon their death and ascend to Heaven to dwell in paradise until the time of the Resurrection, when all who died will be raised again and Jesus Christ will judge the living and the dead.

[Lindir listens carefully, trying to understand. He had never heard anything like this before, and it was interesting.]

It is a strange thing. Our own creator we call Ilúvatar, which in the common speech, means "Father of All," and Aman - the Undying Lands - is where the Eldar live in an fair, green land, for a time until the Second Music.

You are of the world of Men, are you not?

Where I come from, mankind is the only kind of people. There are legends of other creatures, human-like in countenance but more powerful. Elves and trolls, clizyati and kitsune, but they are just legends, nothing more.

So yes, you could call it the world of Men.

[It was hard for Lindir to think of Elves as a legend, really, but mortals tended to be silly creatures and have strange ideas.]

Then perhaps our worlds are not so different. I wish you and your kind well until this time of Resurrection... But tell me, what is the purpose of this judgement?

The judgement separates the righteous from the unrighteous, and shows God's justice. The righteous will be eternally rewarded in both mind and body, and the damned will be eternally punished in both mind and body.

[Lindir is quiet a moment, giving this idea some thought.]

To me this is strange, but I find many things strange to me in this place.

What is strange is also exciting. Many people are drawn to the exotic. That is how it is for the race of Man, I wouldn't know if elves feel the same yearning for novelty.

[Lindir gives a look that suggests that exciting, novelty, and exotic are not exactly words in his vocabulary.]

I cannot speak for all of my kind. There are those of us with more adventurous natures than others. I am not one of them.

[Which makes it a wonder that he is here really.]

[Belloq laughs at the expression on Lindir's face.]

I take it you're not a warrior then.

I am the Steward of Imladris.

[So no.]

Though it is no less noble a duty. I always do my best to serve My Lord Elrond well.

Belloq Log

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it helps that Tolkien was Catholic. XD

/laughs Indeed!

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